Results 901-920 of 17,498 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Mental Health Services (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I agree with the Deputy regarding the importance of being able to support young people early, especially where we know issues are emerging. It is crucial, most importantly, to the young people, but also to our society as a whole. I agree with the Deputy as well that it is important that in the evaluation, we are looking at the work of those in strands 1 and 2, but perhaps also at how they...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Schemes (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy. The schools PV programme is funded by the Government’s climate action fund in line with our recognition that taking action on climate change is central to our social and economic development. It is assisting schools in reducing their energy costs and carbon footprint as part of the response to meeting the 2030 and 2050 climate action plan targets for the schools'...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Schemes (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: This is something that has been brought to my attention before in some of the schools I visited, especially in larger schools, where I have been asked whether they could get more solar panels for all the reasons the Deputy outlined, including to help to reduce costs and ensure the system is appropriate to the scale and size of the school. The scheme's structure was put in place some time...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Schemes (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: There are two objectives to the installation of the solar panels. The first is to help us to achieve our targets and ensure the schools and the Department of education play their roles in helping to achieve our 2030 and 2050 targets. Second, this is also a real opportunity for us to help to reduce costs for the schools. Many of the schools have just installed solar panels, the 44% that are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I agree fully with the Deputy. We should be getting to a situation where all our schools and public buildings have solar panels, insofar as is possible. This will feed into our overall reduction and climate targets but also will support our schools in reducing their costs. This is one of the biggest challenges we currently face in making sure we identify ways schools can reduce their...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I accept what the Deputy is saying. It is not always the case that a fee-paying school has infinite resources. However, it is the case that some schools do have the ability to pay for this. It is about looking at the resources we have and ensuring everyone can benefit from the changes which will not just help support our climate objectives but also help reduce costs. In the time I have...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Mental Health Services (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I thank Deputy Burke for raising this matter. This is an important pilot programme that has been rolled out. My Department is committed to supporting the emotional well-being of our children. In 2023, the establishment of a €5 million pilot programme of counselling and mental health supports for primary schools was announced. In budget 2025, the pilot received additional funding...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Mental Health Services (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I agree with Deputy Burke that any way in which we can provide support to our students at any age or level should be welcomed. It is my intention to continue the work on strands 1 and 2 in the areas under the pilot scheme, to put this programme in place as quickly as possible and to try to expand it further. That comes down to measures and what can be achieved in the budget, and this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Energy Conservation (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The schools photovoltaic, PV, programme provides eligible schools with up to 6 kW peak of roof-mounted solar photovoltaic installations on their roofs, which equates to approximately 14 solar panels. The schools PV programme is funded by the Government’s climate action fund in line with the Government’s recognition that taking action on climate change is central to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 87 together. My Department has a strong track record of delivery. Since 2020, we have invested more than €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the national development plan, involving the completion of more than 1,400 school building projects. It has provided almost 100,000 additional and replacement school places,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I acknowledge the significant work that goes into any construction project. I acknowledge that, for a lot of principals in schools, this does not happen overnight. It takes many years of initial working with the Department to get that approval, identifying the design team, and going through the design stages and the various pieces of work that have to happen. Insofar as possible, the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: We had a similar scenario in my constituency with the same company where there was a school almost built. I am pleased to say that, similar to the Deputy's own, the school is built and the students are there. It is a fantastic complex for them. We always need to look at how we can improve the structures that are there. There is certainly a level of expertise within our ETBs, but also...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Irish Language (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I mentioned a strategy that was currently being developed. The plan is to finalise that in the coming weeks. It builds on extensive consultation that took place at national and school stakeholder levels between January and May of this year. We met almost 200 participants at a national level and over 500 participants at school level. The consultation showed that, exactly as the Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Irish Language (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Deputy is right that the current requirement for the mandatory tréimhsí foghlama sa Ghaeltacht, the Gaeltacht learning periods for primary initial teacher education programmes, is the two-week placement. This is outlined in the Teaching Council's policy, entitled "Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education". The funding was provided for that in budget 2020. The grant...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Irish Language (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: In line with the 20-year strategy for the Irish language, my Department is committed to improving the teaching and learning of Irish in primary and post-primary schools. I share the Deputy's concern. We all went through school and would like to have better Irish than we do. While there are no plans to make attendance at a Gaeltacht summer course mandatory, my Department is mindful that we...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Strategies (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Opportunities for Youth: National Strategy for Youth Work and Related Services is the strategic framework for the youth work sector. It was published in September 2024. The purpose of the strategy is to provide a platform for an effective, data-driven and joined-up approach to the delivery of youth work and related services. The implementation of the strategy will be reported on via the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Strategies (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I acknowledge, as she has, the fantastic work done by our youth workers. So much of it is unseen, and it contributes. We have spoken here many times about challenges in school and making sure children are in school. Youth workers in particular support bringing people back to school and making sure they are happy and they are active. My role and my intention, now that youth is under the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Strategies (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: There is a body of work still to do on just this and identifying where are the gaps. This is separate work that is happening in the Department on mapping exactly where the services are and what types of services are being provided. This is so we can identify where the gaps are and link up better with the education portfolio and identify what resources are needed. I want to make sure...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Since we last spoke at the committee, significant progress has been made. Every week, the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and I, meet with the NCSE to make sure that more places are being offered. Just under 3,300, as I said previously, were notified before the February deadline. The number after that, to be honest, is changing. Every week, more children are coming to the attention of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I utterly reject the suggestion that parents are being gaslit. There has never been as much engagement with parents through the NSCE to support them. I accept that a small number of children still do not have their places. We are working on that. We will work all summer to make sure they have their places allocated to them. Parents and schools are being engaged with throughout all of...